1. Field of the Invention
This invention regards a flexible bag for use by persons with a colostoma. The bag is designed to increase in volume as it fills up with stool.
2. Description of the Related Art
A considerable number of people have undergone operations for injuries and illnesses that entail the colon having to be led out through the abdominal wall. This solution means that stool issuing from the colon is collected in a bag carried on the outside of the body.
Several almost identical solutions are available for collection of stool. All the solutions entail a plate, a so-called stoma plate, normally made from non-rigid plastic and equipped with a central opening adapted to the protruding end of the colon, being guided over the colon and glued to the abdominal skin by the colon by means of an adhesive. On the side facing away from the skin, the plate is provided with an annular bead that seals against the plate. The bead profile varies with the various suppliers' products, but in all cases it is designed to form a fastening for a collection bag for stool, a so-called stoma bag.
Stoma bags according to prior art are designed as a bag with an opening near one of its end portions. The opening is formed in a manner such that it may easily and safely be sealingly connected to the bead of the stoma plate. In this connected-up state, the full length of the stoma bag hangs down along the person's abdomen, filling with stool as the stool issues from the colon. The relatively large physical dimensions of the bag cause it to be difficult to hide, especially when using light clothing.
An obvious solution may be to use a flexible bag, and proposals for the design of such bags have been described in the patent literature. German patent DE 19921555 describes a bellows-shaped stoma bag, which in the initial position is compressed like the bellows of an accordion near the stoma plate. Upon being filled, the bellows bag is extended in the outward direction from the stoma plate. A bag according to DE 19921555 requires relatively little space in the initial position, but will project from the person's body already at a relatively low fill-up level, thereby not constituting a discrete solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,942 describes in main feature a belt containing a stoma bag in a pocket in the belt. With this solution the potential fill volume is limited. Changing out the stoma bag is complicated, and entails a considerable risk of soiling the belt and the person's fingers.